Batting practise devices



E. L. HASKETT 3,006,647

BATTING PRACTISE DEVICES Oct. 31, 1961 Filed May 1, 1959 INVENTOR.

Elmer Lee Haskeff ATTORNEY United States atent Q 3,006,647 BATTING PRACTISE DEVICES Elmer Lee Haskett, Pueblo, Colo. (1126 32nd Ave., Greeley, Colo.), assignor of one-half to Keith William Curtis, Greeley, Colo.

Filed May 1, 1959, Ser. No. 810,423 4 Claims. (Cl. 27326) This invention relates to a batting practise device. It has for its principal object the provision of a highly eflicient device for flexibly suspending a baseball at any desired height and in a position to be struck by a baseball bat for practise purposes.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the device that it can be used indoors in a comparatively limited space and which will allow the ball to be struck with all possible force without damage to the device or the surrounding room or fixtures therein.

A further object of the invention is toso construct the device that: it can be quickly and easily adjusted to accommodate either right or left-handed batters; to provide means for adjusting the height of the device and the ball to accommodate various players and various room heights; and to provide means for securely anchoring the device to a floor without requiring the use of tools and without damage to the floor.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of the improved batting practise device arranged for the use of a righthanded batter;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the upper portion of the device looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged top View of the supporting standard employed in the batting practise device;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detail enlarged section taken on the line 44, FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of a conventional baseball illustrating the means for attaching it to the improved batting practise device; and

FIG. 6 is a similar detail view illustrating an alternate means for attaching a baseball to the device.

The invention comprises a supporting base consisting of three tripod legs 10 extending outwardly and substantially horizontally from the lower portion of a vertical base socket 11. The outer extremity of each of the tripod legs 10 is provided with a vacuum suction cup 12 which will act to attach the base to a floor when the former is pressed downwardly to exhaust the air from the vacuum cups 12.

A tubular post 13 is slidably mounted in the socket 11. The post can be locked at any desired height in the socket 11 by means of a suitable set screw 14 threaded through the wall of the socket and engaging the post 13. A straight cylindrical post rod 15 is telescopically mounted in the post 13 and extends upwardly therefrom. The post rod 15 can be locked in any desired vertical position into the post 13 by means of suitable set screws 16 which are threaded through the wall of the post and into contact with the post rod 15.

The post rod 15 terminates, at its upper extremity, in a horizontal, tubular, bearing sleeve 17 which is welded or otherwise permanently mounted on the rod. A channeled 3,006,647 Patented Oct. 31, 1961 "ice bracket member 18, preferably formed from structural channel iron, is welded to each side of the bearing sleeve 17 and projects oppositely outward therefrom in a hori zontal plane.

A bracket shaft 19 etxends axially through the bearing sleeve 17 and projects both forwardly and rearwardly therefrom. The forwardly projecting portion of the bracket shaft 19 is welded to a rectangular pad frame 20. The pad frame 20 is formed from a round rod 21 bent to form an enclosed rectangular area for receiving a pad pocket 23 enclosing a pad 22 formed from sponge rubber, elastic aerated plastic, or similar cushion material. The pad pocket 23 is formed from a tough fabric, such as relatively heavy canvas or the like, and is stitched along three sides about the sides of the pad frame 20. The fourth or open side of the pocket, through which the pad is inserted or removed, is held closed and is secured about the remaining side of the pad frame 20 by means of suitable straps 24 which can be provided with suitable buckles or snaps 25 or other suitable attachment means.

A latch tongue 26 is welded to the pad frame 20 adjacent the bracket shaft 19 so as to be received in the channels of the channeled bracket members 18 so as to maintain the pad in a horizontal position at either side of the bracket shaft 19. The locking tongue 26 is constantly urged into the channel of one of the bracket members 18 by means of a compression spring 27 which surrounds the rearwardly projecting portion of the bracket shaft 19*.

The spring 27 is pressed between the bearing sleeve 17 and an adjustable spring nut 28 which is threaded on the rear extremity of the bracket shaft 19. A hand-grip ball 29 is also threaded on the rear extremity of the bracket shaft 19 by means of which, the shaft may be forced forwardly against the bias of the spring 27 to release the latch tongue 26 from the channel of one of the bracket members 18 so that the entire pad may be manually rotated over the top of the bracket shaft 19 to a position on the other side thereof. When in the latter position, the spring 27 is allowed to again draw the latch tongue 26 into engagement with the channel of the other bracket channel 18.

A horizontal ball supporting rod 30 provided with a brace plate 31 is welded at its rear extremity to the rod 15 below the bearing sleeve 17 and parallel to the axis of the latter. A hollow, T-fitting 32 is rotatably mounted on the forward extremity of the ball supporting rod 30 in substantial alignment with the middle of the pad 22. The T-fitting 32 is similar to a conventional pipe T and is freely rotatable on the rod 30. The fitting 32 is prevented from longitudinal movement on the rod 30 by means of two set collars 33'.

A ring plug 34 is threaded into the side outlet of the T-fitting 32 from which a flexible chain 35 is suspended to support a conventional baseball 36. The baseball may be secured to the chain 35 in any desired manner.

One means for securing the baseball to the chain 35 is illustrated in FIG. 5 in which a bolt 37 is extended diametrically through the ball and a chain receiving loop 38 is secured on the threaded extremity of the bolt 37 by means of a conventional bolt nut 39. A second means for securing the baseball to the chain 35 is illustrated in FIG. 6 in which a conventional baseball is indicated at 41 at tached to a suspension chain 35 by means of a conventional vacuum suction cup 40. The cup 40 is secured to the baseball 41, by simply pressing it thereagainst so that it will be retained in place by vacuum.

The method of using the device is believed to be apparent from the above. Briefly, with the device in the position of FIG. 1, a right-handed batter with his bat takes a conventional stance forwardly of the ball and swings at the ball 36 causing the latter to swing rearwardly and upwardly, the T-fitting 32 rotating on the rod 30, until it striked the pad where the force of the upward travel will be absorbed} It'will be noted from a study of the drawings that the pad effectively limits upward movement of the ball and also prohibits the ball from traveling in an arc of more than about 150 degrees.

' The height of the ball can be pre-adjusted to suit the individual batter by simply loosening the set screws 16 and raising or lowering the rod 15. If he be a south paw or left-handed batter, the hand-grip ball is pushed forwardly to release the latch tongue and the pad is rotated to a position to the right side of the batter.

It is desired to call attention to the fact that the batter can note the direction in which the ball is impelled, that is, whether toward left field or right field by noting where'the ball strikes the pad, in fact, the pad could, if desired, be prow'ded with indexed, left, right and center field areas.

With the ball attached, as shown in FIG. 5, the device can be safely used in a closed room since the soft, flexibly-supported pad will softly and easily absorb the force of the impact. The attachment means of FIG. 6, however, is designed for outdoor practise for the ball if struck hard, will tear loose from the suction cup before it strikes the pad. 7

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A batting practise device comprising: a base; a vertical standard arising from said'base; a ball-supporting arm secured to and extending horizontally from said standard; a bracket shaft supported by said standard a short distance above and parallel to said supporting arm;

a baseball; a flexible element suspending said ball from said arm so that it will swing when struck by a baseball bat; and a horizontal pad supported by said bracket shaft above and to one side of said ball-supporting armfor receiving the impact of said ball and limiting the upward movement thereof and the arc travelled by the ball to substantially less than 180 degrees when the latter is struck by a bat.

2. A -batting practise device as described in claim 1 in which the pad is rotatable about the axis of said bracket shaft so that it may be positioned to either side of said arm and having means for latching the pad in horizontal position at either side of said arm for use by either right or left-handed batters.

3. A batting practise device as described in claim 2 in which the rotatable mounting for the pad comprises: a horizontal bearing sleeve fixedly mounted on the top of said standard, said bracket'shaft being rotatably mounted in said bearing sleeve, said pad being fixedly secured to and extending radially from said shaft.

4. A batting practise device as described in claim 3 in which the shaft is rotatable in said sleeve and having latching means arranged to support said pad in a substantially horizontal plane at either side of said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

